The Importance Of Boundaries & Why I Set Them

Boundaries; it's a word that packs a whole lot of punch. What initially exists as a simple addition to your daily routine, is actually pretty difficult to get right when the rules aren’t set out for you (in my opinion).

Sure, deciding on a time to start work, prioritising time out for lunch, and working at an actual desk sounds easy - a child could do it. But the reality of my personal experience freelancing - predominantly from home at that - suggests otherwise.

You can’t scroll social media for longer than 30 seconds without seeing a post about the importance of self-care and mindfulness, and rightly so; after all, it’s crucial that we take care of ourselves in both our working life and personal life – but I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I struggle to meet the desired standards every single day.

When you travel to your place of work it’s likely that you’ll have a set structure for the day, for example; a clear start time and a finish time, perhaps an hour’s lunch break, depending on the nature of your job? You have set boundaries to follow. Well, what I’ve found since going freelance is that - (honesty hour alert) - I can start my day with the best intentions, but I always somehow end up on the sofa by late afternoon. Tell me I'm not alone?!

There's little consistency. I have days where I work until 10pm and days where I sign off at 4pm, days where I snack while working and others where I take time out to have lunch away from my laptop, sometimes I have back-to-back calls and others I don’t speak to anybody – it varies a great deal. This is why it’s important to set a few key boundaries and introduce a little structure into your day.

I recommend the following:

· Set yourself daily work hours as though you were in the office

· Have a reasonable lunch break away from your laptop

· Have a proper setup, sit at a desk with a good chair if you can

· If you work from home, prioritise a daily walk or some fresh air

· If you feel you need a laptop break, take one – let's face it we all spent too much time gossiping by the coffee machine in the office, why can't we do the same at home?! (Those were the days...)

· Give yourself achievable deadlines to work towards each week

· Don’t be too hard on yourself.

· Repeat.

They don't sound like life-changing boundaries, because they're not. They're simple, easy-to-follow rules that aim to help professionals now working from home feel a little more disciplined. I'm simply trying to mimic a typical day in the office, nothing more.

Ps. Please don't however be fooled into thinking that I'm against wearing pyjama bottoms while on zoom calls

- that I am very much in favour of.